Thomas Belesis (standing) plays a cameo role in the 2009 film "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" along with Shia LaBeouf.Photo: Barry Wetcher

Tom Belesis (Angel Chevrestt)

Talk about life imitating art.

Brokerage CEO Thomas Belesis — who had a bit part in “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” — has been sued by the industry’s watchdog for selling shares ahead of his customers and for threatening his brokers, physically and otherwise.

A complaint filed today by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority charges Belesis and his brokerage firm, John Thomas Financial, as well as four employees with fraud and intimidation, among other violations.

If the regulator prevails, Belesis, 38, and the employees could be fined, suspended or even barred from the industry.

Belesis, who founded JTF in 2007, had a cameo in Oliver Stone’s follow-up to his famous flick about Wall Street greed. His firm also helped train actor Shia LaBeouf for his role in the sequel.

The charges represent the latest in a string of setbacks for Belesis, a regular talking head on CNBC and Republican fund-raiser who has been honored by New York’s GOP leaders as “Businessman Man of the Year.”

Last month, Belesis was slapped by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulator filed an administrative action against Belesis and George Jarkesy, a Houston radio host, for allegedly deceiving investors in two hedge funds Jarkesy managed in order to enrich themselves at the investors’ expense. Both men denied the allegations.

Finra, the brokerage industry’s self-regulatory body, said Belesis and other JTF staffers conspired to block the firm’s brokers from selling clients’ shares of America West Resources, a tiny Salt Lake City-based coal company, in February 2012.

At the time, the stock was in the midst of a 600 percent run up, and Belesis allegedly unloaded the firm’s shares — allowing JTF to pocket $1 million, according to the complaint.

Customers were less fortunate. Out of the 15 sell orders JFT received that day for AWSR, only one was executed, Finra said. The company filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, rendering customers’ investments “virtually worthless,” the complaint read.

Belesis was also charged with intimidating and harassing brokers who questioned him or tried to leave the firm.

He threatened to run over one broker “in the street” because the broker complained about the quality of the people being brought in to give investment presentations, according to the complaint.

The watchdog said he also threatened to improperly mark up the broker’s license to undermine the broker’s ability to get another job.

Upon firing another broker, Belesis screamed: “f–k you, you’re done in this business, you’re done in this business, get the f–k out of here,” according to the complaint.

The same broker was then “shoved” by Ron Cantalupo, JTF’s regional managing director, and escorted out of the firm’s Wall Street offices, Finra said.

Cantalupo also allegedly used his past prison stint to threaten the former head of JTF’s investment banking department, who wanted to leave JTF and take his 20-person staff with him.

When the former executive refused to meet Cantalupo in person to discuss the matter, Cantalupo allegedly told him that if he had to go back to prison, he would “get” him. The executive called the police, Finra said.

Also named in the complaint is JTF branch manager Michele Misiti, trader John Ward, and chief compliance officer Joseph Castellano.